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Logwood

(Bois de Campeche, Campeachy Wood)

Logwood is a dye wood from Central America, used for producing blues
and purples on wool, black on cotton and wool, and black and violet on
silk. It is called by old dyers one of the Lesser Dyes, because the
colour was said to lose all its brightness when exposed to the air.
But with proper mordants and with careful dyeing this dye can produce
fast and good colours. Queen Elizabeth's government issued an
enactment entirely forbidding the use of logwood. The person so
offending was liable to imprisonment and the pillory. The principal
use for logwood is in making blacks. The logwood chips should be put
in a bag and boiled for 20 minutes to 1/2 an hour, just before using.